I want my garbage to be hauled away like that.

I just happened to be at home this week when the garbage truck arrived. Have you ever watched them pick up your garbage? This huge truck comes to a screeching stop at your driveway. Then a big claw comes out of the truck. It tightly wraps itself around the container and in a very forceful move, it lifts it up all the way to the top where the garbage that was piled in there during the week is immediately dumped out. The can is quickly placed back on the ground. The lid is now back on the can … and the truck drives away. Then — there’s silence.

I want that. I want to have someone come to my house each week and dump out my own personal garbage. Why not? Wouldn’t that be cool? We could toss in there anything we wanted with the knowledge that each week (or, if you pay a premium, more often) you too could have your garbage dumped. Really sounds amazing to me. You could even hire it to go dump the garbage of those people who are trying to fill up your can of garbage with their s***. Am I on to something here?

But alas, that’s not to be and we have to deal with all our own garbage. Even therapy forces us to haul it away ourselves (pay and you still have to work — there’s a problem with that!).

I’ve got my fair share of garbage. Some I can dump and it never seems to come back. And some, well – I don’t think a quick any thing will get rid of it. But, as a friend used to say to me — that’s part of my charm and beauty. I’ve got good stuff and I’ve got bad stuff. It makes up who I am. My vulnerabilities. My life filled with love (and sometimes pain when I give a bit too much). This garbage, combined with the rest of me will, of course, also shape my future experiences.

I guess I need to remind myself that no one is made perfect. Actually, our “perfectness” comes from our imperfections. Plus, we all have garbage. Some days the can is full and sometimes not.

Maybe life is as simple as just finding a way to dump our garbage each week and allow for a fresh start. Or to put less in … a recycling theme? Maybe what I think about the garbage complicating my life is really there to provide me with direction? Hmm… More questions than answers (typical Jessica).

Maybe the real truth is this: “Life is a simple combination of good and bad. It is we who make it complicated.” Bryson T. Staley